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News Release Information

24-855-BOS
Friday, May 03, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (617) 565-4141

Business Employment Dynamics in Maine — Third Quarter 2023

From June 2023 to September 2023, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Maine were 41,735, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 36,676, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 5,059 jobs in the private sector during the third quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 77. (See chart 1.)

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the third quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 6.8 percent of private-sector employment in Maine; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.8 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In Maine, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 29,092 in the third quarter of 2023, a decrease of 1,991 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 7,584 jobs gained in the third quarter of 2023, a decrease of 2,427 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the third quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 7.8 percent of private-sector employment in Maine; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.9 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In Maine, contracting establishments lost 32,053 jobs in the third quarter of 2023, a decrease of 170 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 9,682 jobs, an increase of 888 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 8 of the 9 published industry sectors in Maine in the third quarter of 2023. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job loss, with a decrease of 3,350 jobs. This was the result of 11,989 gross job losses and 8,639 gross job gains. Retail trade had a net loss of 1,433 jobs, and manufacturing had a net loss of 1,190 jobs. The education and health services industry showed a net gain of 2,515 jobs.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at the Business Employment Dynamics Home.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Fourth Quarter 2023 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 24, 2024.


Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records.

More information on formal definitions of the data used in this release, along with coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Maine, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains and losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023
June
2023
Sept.
2023
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023
June
2023
Sept.
2023

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

40,046 39,221 41,777 41,094 36,676 7.6 7.4 7.7 7.6 6.8

At expanding establishments

31,538 30,911 32,429 31,083 29,092 6.0 5.8 6.0 5.7 5.4

At opening establishments

8,508 8,310 9,348 10,011 7,584 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.9 1.4

Gross job losses

38,150 36,063 32,865 41,017 41,735 7.3 6.8 6.2 7.6 7.8

At contracting establishments

29,302 28,165 25,568 32,223 32,053 5.6 5.3 4.8 6.0 6.0

At closing establishments

8,848 7,898 7,297 8,794 9,682 1.7 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.8

Net employment change (2)

1,896 3,158 8,912 77 -5,059 0.3 0.6 1.5 0.0 -1.0

Construction

Gross job gains

2,772 3,645 3,482 2,633 2,857 8.8 11.3 10.2 7.7 8.7

At expanding establishments

2,164 2,868 2,549 2,091 2,129 6.9 8.9 7.5 6.1 6.5

At opening establishments

608 777 933 542 728 1.9 2.4 2.7 1.6 2.2

Gross job losses

3,211 2,614 2,450 3,269 3,273 10.2 8.2 7.2 9.6 10.1

At contracting establishments

2,287 1,849 1,839 2,407 2,403 7.3 5.8 5.4 7.1 7.4

At closing establishments

924 765 611 862 870 2.9 2.4 1.8 2.5 2.7

Net employment change (2)

-439 1,031 1,032 -636 -416 -1.4 3.1 3.0 -1.9 -1.4

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

2,217 1,858 1,819 2,128 1,725 4.1 3.4 3.4 3.9 3.3

At expanding establishments

1,979 1,630 1,704 1,836 1,426 3.7 3.0 3.2 3.4 2.7

At opening establishments

238 228 115 292 299 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.6

Gross job losses

1,931 2,057 2,030 2,440 2,915 3.6 3.8 3.8 4.5 5.5

At contracting establishments

1,683 1,878 1,771 2,178 2,438 3.1 3.5 3.3 4.0 4.6

At closing establishments

248 179 259 262 477 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.9

Net employment change (2)

286 -199 -211 -312 -1,190 0.5 -0.4 -0.4 -0.6 -2.2

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

981 818 919 943 726 5.0 4.2 4.7 4.9 3.8

At expanding establishments

786 736 797 787 587 4.0 3.8 4.1 4.1 3.1

At opening establishments

195 82 122 156 139 1.0 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.7

Gross job losses

847 901 888 902 925 4.3 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.8

At contracting establishments

684 712 699 713 752 3.5 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.9

At closing establishments

163 189 189 189 173 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.9

Net employment change (2)

134 -83 31 41 -199 0.7 -0.5 0.1 0.2 -1.0

Retail trade

Gross job gains

5,069 4,676 6,158 4,966 4,838 6.4 5.9 7.6 6.1 6.0

At expanding establishments

4,516 4,052 5,183 4,318 4,276 5.7 5.1 6.4 5.3 5.3

At opening establishments

553 624 975 648 562 0.7 0.8 1.2 0.8 0.7

Gross job losses

5,235 4,635 3,748 5,723 6,271 6.5 5.9 4.6 7.0 7.7

At contracting establishments

4,404 3,953 3,111 5,021 5,352 5.5 5.0 3.8 6.1 6.6

At closing establishments

831 682 637 702 919 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.1

Net employment change (2)

-166 41 2,410 -757 -1,433 -0.1 0.0 3.0 -0.9 -1.7

Financial activities

Gross job gains

1,889 1,488 1,185 1,496 1,077 6.1 4.8 3.8 4.9 3.5

At expanding establishments

1,507 1,219 1,027 1,198 899 4.9 3.9 3.3 3.9 2.9

At opening establishments

382 269 158 298 178 1.2 0.9 0.5 1.0 0.6

Gross job losses

1,400 1,546 1,485 1,711 1,411 4.6 4.9 4.8 5.5 4.6

At contracting establishments

1,003 1,129 1,134 1,211 1,023 3.3 3.6 3.7 3.9 3.3

At closing establishments

397 417 351 500 388 1.3 1.3 1.1 1.6 1.3

Net employment change (2)

489 -58 -300 -215 -334 1.5 -0.1 -1.0 -0.6 -1.1

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

5,978 5,264 4,788 5,223 5,053 7.9 6.9 6.3 6.9 6.7

At expanding establishments

4,257 3,965 4,038 4,136 3,999 5.6 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.3

At opening establishments

1,721 1,299 750 1,087 1,054 2.3 1.7 1.0 1.4 1.4

Gross job losses

5,430 5,633 5,167 7,224 5,137 7.2 7.4 6.8 9.5 6.8

At contracting establishments

3,872 4,057 3,942 5,680 3,656 5.1 5.3 5.2 7.5 4.8

At closing establishments

1,558 1,576 1,225 1,544 1,481 2.1 2.1 1.6 2.0 2.0

Net employment change (2)

548 -369 -379 -2,001 -84 0.7 -0.5 -0.5 -2.6 -0.1

Education and health services

Gross job gains

5,137 4,681 4,801 4,985 6,646 4.4 4.0 4.0 4.3 5.5

At expanding establishments

4,636 4,204 4,397 4,203 6,005 4.0 3.6 3.7 3.6 5.0

At opening establishments

501 477 404 782 641 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.5

Gross job losses

4,260 3,940 3,671 4,512 4,131 3.6 3.4 3.1 3.8 3.4

At contracting establishments

3,178 3,257 2,935 3,766 3,022 2.7 2.8 2.5 3.2 2.5

At closing establishments

1,082 683 736 746 1,109 0.9 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.9

Net employment change (2)

877 741 1,130 473 2,515 0.8 0.6 0.9 0.5 2.1

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

10,512 10,995 10,887 11,052 8,639 16.2 16.9 16.3 16.3 12.8

At expanding establishments

7,899 8,662 8,461 8,418 6,419 12.2 13.3 12.7 12.4 9.5

At opening establishments

2,613 2,333 2,426 2,634 2,220 4.0 3.6 3.6 3.9 3.3

Gross job losses

10,890 10,073 8,539 10,470 11,989 16.9 15.5 12.8 15.4 17.8

At contracting establishments

8,516 7,790 6,788 7,829 9,293 13.2 12.0 10.2 11.5 13.8

At closing establishments

2,374 2,283 1,751 2,641 2,696 3.7 3.5 2.6 3.9 4.0

Net employment change (2)

-378 922 2,348 582 -3,350 -0.7 1.4 3.5 0.9 -5.0

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

1,344 1,174 1,380 1,397 1,066 8.2 7.2 8.6 8.4 6.4

At expanding establishments

1,098 1,025 1,177 1,227 900 6.7 6.3 7.3 7.4 5.4

At opening establishments

246 149 203 170 166 1.5 0.9 1.3 1.0 1.0

Gross job losses

1,208 1,278 1,069 1,257 1,503 7.4 7.9 6.6 7.6 9.0

At contracting establishments

975 1,056 783 927 1,231 6.0 6.5 4.8 5.6 7.4

At closing establishments

233 222 286 330 272 1.4 1.4 1.8 2.0 1.6

Net employment change (2)

136 -104 311 140 -437 0.8 -0.7 2.0 0.8 -2.6

Footnotes:
(1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately.
(2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. See the Technical Note for further information.
(3) Except public administration.

Table 2. Private-sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Gross job losses as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023
June
2023
Sept.
2023
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023
June
2023
Sept.
2023

United States(1)

6.9 6.3 6.2 6.2 5.8 5.9 5.9 5.4 5.9 5.9

Alabama

6.9 6.6 6.4 5.9 5.9 5.9 6.1 5.5 5.7 6.0

Alaska

8.5 10.9 10.4 11.0 8.5 10.4 9.2 8.0 8.9 10.5

Arizona

7.1 6.6 5.9 7.0 6.7 5.5 6.0 5.4 6.5 5.9

Arkansas

6.5 6.2 5.8 5.8 5.6 5.2 5.2 5.0 6.0 5.7

California

6.8 6.6 6.1 6.7 6.2 6.2 6.6 6.4 6.4 6.5

Colorado

7.0 7.6 7.2 7.3 5.5 7.1 6.9 6.5 6.6 6.2

Connecticut

6.3 5.9 6.1 6.4 5.8 6.2 5.9 5.3 5.7 6.2

Delaware

8.6 7.0 6.7 6.0 6.0 6.2 7.5 5.2 5.7 6.5

District of Columbia

7.2 5.6 5.9 5.4 5.5 5.0 5.5 4.8 5.3 5.4

Florida

7.8 6.2 6.3 6.8 6.5 5.6 6.0 5.6 5.8 5.8

Georgia

7.1 6.7 6.2 6.4 6.1 5.9 5.9 5.8 6.5 6.1

Hawaii

6.4 6.0 5.5 5.7 5.3 4.9 4.9 5.0 5.2 6.9

Idaho

7.8 8.4 7.9 7.9 7.3 7.5 6.9 7.5 7.5 8.2

Illinois

5.8 5.4 5.8 5.4 4.8 5.3 5.1 4.8 5.3 5.5

Indiana

6.4 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.8 5.5 5.2 5.0 6.1 5.8

Iowa

5.9 6.4 6.0 6.0 5.5 5.9 6.2 5.4 5.9 5.8

Kansas

7.4 6.3 6.1 6.1 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.4 6.0 6.0

Kentucky

6.6 6.0 6.1 5.6 5.7 5.4 5.3 4.9 5.9 5.5

Louisiana

6.9 6.1 6.3 6.1 6.2 5.7 6.2 5.6 6.4 6.0

Maine

7.6 7.4 7.7 7.6 6.8 7.3 6.8 6.2 7.6 7.8

Maryland

7.4 6.6 6.8 6.7 6.4 6.0 6.9 5.6 6.3 6.5

Massachusetts

6.2 5.5 5.8 5.9 5.4 6.1 5.8 4.7 5.7 6.1

Michigan

5.7 5.9 5.7 5.9 5.2 5.8 5.2 4.9 5.3 5.9

Minnesota

6.5 5.9 5.7 6.0 3.1 5.9 5.8 4.9 5.6 4.2

Mississippi

7.2 6.8 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.3 6.2 5.7 6.6 6.2

Missouri

6.8 6.1 6.5 5.9 5.6 6.3 5.8 5.1 5.9 5.8

Montana

8.7 9.2 8.7 7.8 7.7 7.8 7.8 7.1 8.4 8.5

Nebraska

7.1 6.0 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.1 5.7 5.1 5.6 5.9

Nevada

7.4 6.4 6.2 6.6 6.5 5.8 6.1 5.7 6.0 5.5

New Hampshire

6.9 6.7 7.0 6.7 5.9 6.7 6.0 5.9 6.3 6.7

New Jersey

6.8 6.8 6.1 6.8 5.9 6.4 5.9 5.7 5.9 5.9

New Mexico

8.0 6.7 6.8 6.4 6.1 5.9 6.2 5.9 6.2 6.7

New York

6.6 5.9 6.5 6.3 5.8 5.9 6.0 5.1 5.7 6.1

North Carolina

6.7 6.6 6.4 6.1 5.6 5.8 5.7 5.3 5.7 6.2

North Dakota

7.6 6.4 7.6 6.9 6.6 6.3 6.7 5.6 6.7 6.6

Ohio

5.8 5.9 5.8 5.6 5.2 5.5 5.7 4.9 5.7 5.7

Oklahoma

7.4 6.6 6.3 6.2 6.2 5.6 5.9 5.3 6.0 6.0

Oregon

6.7 6.5 7.3 6.4 6.1 6.0 6.2 6.1 6.9 6.9

Pennsylvania

6.1 5.5 5.5 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.2 4.6 5.5 5.2

Rhode Island

6.7 6.9 7.5 6.7 6.5 7.3 6.4 5.9 7.0 6.8

South Carolina

7.3 6.9 6.8 6.4 6.8 5.6 6.2 5.8 6.8 5.7

South Dakota

7.3 6.5 7.2 6.8 6.3 6.4 6.5 5.9 6.2 6.3

Tennessee

7.0 5.8 5.9 5.9 2.7 5.5 5.6 5.0 5.5 4.2

Texas

7.2 6.2 5.9 5.8 5.7 5.3 5.3 5.0 5.4 5.5

Utah

7.5 6.9 7.0 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.2 6.2 6.5

Vermont

7.2 7.8 8.2 7.4 6.3 7.8 7.0 6.0 7.5 8.0

Virginia

7.5 6.2 6.2 6.0 5.8 6.1 5.8 5.2 5.8 6.0

Washington

7.2 5.9 6.4 6.0 5.4 6.3 5.3 5.5 5.6 6.0

West Virginia

8.1 6.6 7.1 6.1 6.5 6.9 6.4 5.3 6.1 6.5

Wisconsin

6.0 6.0 6.0 5.6 5.2 5.8 5.5 4.9 5.9 5.9

Wyoming

9.2 9.2 8.9 8.4 8.2 8.4 7.9 7.8 8.7 8.2

Puerto Rico

6.2 6.6 5.1 5.8 5.7 5.3 6.1 5.7 4.9 5.4

Virgin Islands

8.5 5.9 7.5 7.4 8.2 5.5 4.7 6.5 6.8 7.1

Footnotes
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, May 03, 2024